Assessment and analysis at AHDB Strategic Cereal Farms - Strategic Farm North

Background

AHDB Farm Excellence is a channel for integrating farmers and their businesses into the wider AHDB Research and Knowledge Exchange (KE) programmes. Across AHDB sectors, we work with an extensive scope of agricultural businesses. We have inspirational farmers opening their doors to others to learn, share and create new ideas to drive innovation and increase productivity.

Strategic Cereal Farm demonstrate new ways of working in a commercial setting. The programme demonstrates relevant research through a series of trials and demonstrations in addition to knowledge exchange events to share the results with the wider industry. Approaches are subject to full cost-benefit analysis and are designed to help farmers assess the possibility of changing approaches on their own farms. You can find out more about AHDB Farm Excellence by visiting: ahdb.org.uk/farm-excellence.

Strategic Cereal Farm North hosted by David Blacker at Church Farm, York. This is the most recent Strategic Cereal Farm, which will start on 1 September 2022 and will end on 31 August 2028.

Currently there are three other Strategic Cereal Farms.

Strategic Cereal Farm East hosted by Brian Barker at Lodge Farm, Stowmarket. The Strategic Cereal Farm East started on 1 September 2017 and will end on 31 August 2023. You can find out more information by visiting: ahdb.org.uk/farm-excellence/strategic_cereal_farm_east  

Strategic Cereal Farm Scotland hosted by David Aglen at Balbirnie Home Farms, Fife. The Strategic Cereal Farm Scotland started on 1 September 2020 and will run until 31 August 2026. You can find our more information by visiting: ahdb.org.uk/farm-excellence/strategic_cereal_farm_scotland

Strategic Cereal Farm South hosted by David Miller at Wheatsheaf Farming Company, Basingstoke. The Strategic Cereal Farm South started on 1 September 2021 and will end on 31 August 2027. You can find out more information by visiting: ahdb.org.uk/farm-excellence/strategic_cereal_farm_east  

Aim

AHDB wish to commission assessments at the Strategic Cereal Farm North for harvest 2023, with the potential to renew the contract for subsequent harvests subject to review of milestones and deliverables. The aim of the assessments is to provide information to cereal and oilseed farmers and agronomists on opportunities to improve the efficiency of farming. The aim of the Strategic Cereal Farm North is to identify barriers to yield and test ways to sustainably overcome those factors through on-farm trialling.

Research partnership approach

Applicants can respond to individual work packages in this call. Joint proposals from two or more contractors are acceptable and encouraged where there is added value. AHDB may, if it is deemed desirable, request applicants to form a consortium to work together. There should be one organisation designated as the lead organisation for the Partnership that is responsible for project management and delivery. The group size should be manageable. Prospective partnerships can comprise both research institutes and industrial partners, be multi-disciplinary, and draw on a range of research experience for a number of crops. Therefore, the group does not necessarily need to have a history of working together previously. Priority will be given to the applicants with joint proposals demonstrating added value and with in-kind and or cash funding from the industry.

Project duration and budget

AHDB has set aside a maximum total budget of £50,000 per farm over 12 months. Proposals for this call should provide detailed costs for the period 1 September 2022 – 1 October 2023. There is the potential to renew the contract for subsequent harvests subject to review of milestones and deliverables.

The earliest date of commencement for work funded in this call will be September 2022. The successful contractor will be required to provide monthly trials diaries to AHDB. During the period of disease assessment, the successful contractor will be required to provide trials diaries following each assessment.

Completion and submission of the application form

All applicants should complete an application form for projects over £50,000 using the AHDB Research and KE Application Form – Full Proposal Large, referring to the guidance notes to aid completion. 

Proposals should include details relating to harvest 2023 trials, including:

• Detailed schedule and timing of assessments
• Detailed schedule of payments against milestone project deliverables
• Cost of measurements and analysis of the parameters listed in the work package
• Written and verbal presentations of content for Open Day (June 2023) and Results Day (November 2023) handouts, using a template provided by AHDB
• The successful contractor will also be required to provide AHDB will final reports for all trials/ work packages using a template provided by AHDB, to include methodology, analysis and interpretation of the final results
• Details of laboratories to be used for sample analysis
• Applicant details, including the project lead, nominated trial manager and organisation details. Please include any details of collaborators where appropriate
• Statement of availability and description of machinery where appropriate
• Details of previous experience and work in this field, to include scientific and technical expertise of the staff involved in the project
• Availability of speakers at AHDB Knowledge Exchange events during the project

Applications are made on the basis of the AHDB research funding agreement and any organisation receiving funding shall comply with the terms and conditions specified in the Contract. AHDB will not be held responsible for any expenses or losses incurred by applicants in the preparation of an application(s).

Completed application forms should be submitted to research@ahdb.org.uk no later than 09:00 on 30 June 2022.

Proposed timings for application and overall project delivery

Once the successful applicant has been notified, an inception meeting will be arranged.  This meeting will take place before the project commences to finalise the protocol and site accessibility.

An interim project meeting will be held in April 2023 and data collected up to this date should be provided to AHDB with monthly project reports for each trial.

Project management

This project will be managed by a project committee comprising representatives of the successful applicant, AHDB staff, host farmer and other suitably qualified individuals (determined by AHDB). The successful applicant must appoint a trial manager for the day to day management of the project and must provide evidence in their application that these individuals have suitable experience.

The successful applicant must draw up a protocol for the trials which should be shared with the project committee before work begins.

Monthly trial diaries and update meetings The successful contractor will be required to attend monthly project update meetings. These meetings will be held online using Microsoft Teams and will last for approximately 1 hour. During these meetings, each work package lead will be required to update the project team on progress to date, including data collection, images and any results. Monthly trial diaries should be submitted to the project team the day before the project meeting. These trials diaries should include a written update, photographs (original files), any data collected.

Records and data handling All paper and electronic records must be kept as per contractor’s procedures. All data should be recorded appropriately and supplied to AHDB at the end of the project along with a final project report.

Procedures in the event of delays If prolonged adverse conditions result in delays of over 7 days, notify the AHDB Knowledge Transfer Manager promptly.

Risk assessment The contractor must supply a risk assessment for the trial to cover all elements of the work and that is compliant with industry regulations.

Assessment of Proposals

All submitted proposals will be reviewed by cross-sector research and KE representatives within AHDB. The selection will be an open and fair competition according to AHDB’s procurement policy, which complies with EU state aid rules.

Knowledge Exchange (KE)

The successful contractor will be required to make a significant contribution to KE. Platform presentations at AHDB events may be required and the successful contractor must be able to provide suitably qualified people to speak at these events and show evidence of their experience of speaking to grower audiences. Attendance at events will be paid at a day rate plus expenses (see below) and the costs should not be included in the contractor’s proposal.

The successful contractor will be required to provide AHDB with written content as well as present at the on-farm Open Day (June 2023) and online Results Day (November 2023). A template for written handouts and final reports for trials/work packages will be provided by AHDB.

The successful contractor may also be expected to contribute towards the preparation of publications, updates and blog posts related to the project as required on an ad-hoc basis. This will include providing commentary on project results, and sense checking. The costs of this must be included within the proposal submission and these costs should be indicated separately.

Presentations of material at events not requested by and/or directly supported by AHDB will not be funded by AHDB, but must be cleared with AHDB in advance.

Current AHDB day rates and expenses for presenters at AHDB events: speaker day rate of £475 + VAT. Receipts (originals or copies) must be provided for all expenses claimed. Expenses authorised whilst engaged on business on behalf of AHDB.

• Travel
  • (Business mileage 45p/mile)
• Subsistence
  • Evening meal – up to £28.00 per person, inclusive of VAT
  • Other meals – up to £10.00 per person, inclusive of VAT
• Accommodation
  • maximum of £160 for London and any other capital city inclusive of VAT
  • maximum of £110 per night elsewhere inclusive of VAT
• Other reasonable out of pocket expenses incurred

Questions and Answers

If you have specific questions relating to this call, please email research@ahdb.org.uk. All questions and answers will be published. As part of the open tender process, AHDB cannot discuss specific programme details prior to proposal submission. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):

Q.  What is the cropping for the fields?

A.  Newton 2022: Fallow in an AB scheme (enhanced overwinter stubble).

Newton 2023: Winter Wheat

New Farm 2022: Spring Beans

New Farm 2023: Winter Wheat

Overton 4 2022: Winter Wheat

Overton 4 2023: Spring Beans

Overton 5 2022: ½ Winter Wheat and ½ getting drains put in.

Overton 5 2023: Spring Beans

Q.  Have any trials taken place in the fields?

A.  The last trial in any of the fields was the Maxi Cover crop trial in New Farm. There are no trials in Overton but the fields are split cropped.

Q.  Where are the fields located?

A.  The map is included on the call but the co-ordinates are as follows:

• New farm & Overton: 54°00'11.4"N 1°08'33.5"W
• Newton: 54°01'57.4"N 1°12'21.6"W

Q.  How many soil types are in each field?

A.  New farm: 2 soil types per field

     Overton: 2 soil types per field

     Newton: 3 soil types per field

Q.  How is the soils data presented?

A.   There are conductivity maps across the fields and nutrient analysis is done on a per-hectare grid.

Q.  Overton 5, is there any drainage sampling equipment fitted?

A.   No

Q.  In WP1 shat do you mean in the list of assessments by “soil biology” ? This could encompass a broad range of assessments – do you have some specific ones in mind (beyond the bacterial:fungal ratios and microbial biomass already listed)?

A.  The purpose of the assessments is to measure microbial type and activity, which can be monitored over time. Suggestions for appropriate tests would be welcomed. Currently, the soil health scorecard has been carried out on the other Strategic Cereal Farms, measuring indicators for soil biology,       chemistry and physics.

Q.  Do you have standardised assessment protocols to allow comparison among farms? Can you share these at this stage?

A.  Protocols from other Strategic Farms can be made available once the contract has been awarded. Assessments carried out at each farm can be found on the Strategic Cereal Farm webpages.

Strategic Cereal Farm North

Farm host and location

Farm host: David Blacker, Farm Manager, Church Farm 

Location: Shipton, York YO30 1YW

Aim

The overall aim of the Strategic Cereal Farm North is to determine the factors that limit yield with an ambition of trialling different methods to overcome those barriers. The aim of the first-year assessments at Strategic Cereal Farm North is to determine a baseline of the status of the fields and crops at Church Farm. This is needed before the subsequent research demonstrations commence.

The call has been divided into the following four work packages:

Work package 1: Soil biology and soil health to depth

Work package 2: Crop health

Work package 3: Data analysis

Work package 4: Drainage trial  

More detailed information on the assessments required within each of the trials are provided on the following pages. Applicants should respond to each of the work packages detailed in this call. Your application should address each work package separately, and you should provide detailed costs of each assessment on a work package basis.

Site description

5 fields have been selected across 3 sites at the Strategic Cereal Farm North for inclusion in the programme.

Site 1: Overton

• Overton 4: 9.06ha
• Overton 5: 11.63ha

Site 2: New Farm

• New Farm 4: 7.18ha
• New Farm 5: 6.77ha

Site 3: Newton

• Newton 1: 15.42ha

Work package descriptions

The work package descriptions below are provided as a guide. Where appropriate, please include alternatives to the proposed methodologies in your application based on your experience. Alternative trial designs and assessments should consider the intended aim of the Strategic Cereal Farm, budget and logistics of establishing and managing trials with farm scale machinery. 

Work package 1: soil assessments

Background

The aim of the first year of the programme at Strategic Cereal Farm North is to identify barriers to yield, therefore the aim of this work package is to carry out in-depth soil assessments. David has carried out top-soil analysis over a number of years, but little assessment has been done in the subsoil.

Research Review 95 found differences in nutrient status of the topsoil and subsoil, which could be a factor influencing yield at the farm.

Fields included in the work package can experience both drought and flooding in the same year, with varied soil types within the field. Pans of compaction encouraging shallower rooting can exacerbate the effect of dry weather later on in the season. On the other hand, prolonged waterlogging can cause root death. When the soil is wetter than field capacity and drainage is occurring, soluble nutrients such as nitrate are leached to lower levels in the soil profile and shallow rooting systems as a result of compacted soils can result in a reduction in nutrient and water uptake, to the detriment of yield.

Therefore, deeper soil profiling is required to see the impact of soil structure, nutrient content and microbial activity on crop rooting and development.

Newton 1 is one of the most productive fields on the farm so would provide a good comparison to Newton and New Farm fields which are less productive.  Overton fields have a varied soil type (sand and clay) within field and New Farm has less in-field variation.

Design

Field sites and treatments

5 fields totalling 50.06 hectares: 

Overton 4: 9.06ha

Overton 5: 11.63ha (included in work package 4)

New Farm 4: 7.18ha

New Farm 5: 6.77ha

Newton 1: 15.42ha

Assessments

Proposals should include a time schedule and protocol (including number of samples and analysis) for the following assessments in accordance with standard operating procedures and to address the aim of the baselining.

The farm has a weather station as well as soil probes measuring soil moisture at Overton and New Farm. Assessment protocols should include the following measures:

• Subsoil (to 12 inches depth)
  • Structure (VESS)
  • Soil type
  • Soil biology
  • Porosity
  • Soil organic matter
  • Infiltration/water holding capacity
  • pH
• Topsoil
  • Structure (VESS)
  • Soil biology
  • Microbial biomass carbon
  • Microbiological analysis (bacteria - fungal ratio)

Work package 2: Crop assessments

Background

Linked to work package 1, crop development can help determine the effect of soil on the growing crop. Research Review 45 notes that poor rooting can limit growth due to low uptake of water or nutrients. Root systems respond dynamically to soil conditions, with some of the clearest examples of yield loss due to poor rooting from studies on soil compaction. In some clay soils, rooting in the subsoil is only possible through structural cracks and wormholes, so not all available water is accessible by the crop.

In many circumstances plant roots are able to take up most of the available water and nutrients in the root zone. However, the pattern of uptake over time is important because the availability of nutrients can be diminished by leaching losses from the system down the soil profile, and by drying out of the soil. Therefore, the Strategic Cereal Farm North would like to investigate if the crop roots are able to access nutrients throughout the soil profile as well as if soil nutrients are being replenished at an adequate rate for the plant to take up nutrition at the right time.

The aim of this work package is to assess the impact of soil health and structure on plant development as well as identify if there is a correlation between soil nutrient availability and nutrient in the crop.

Design

Field sites and treatments

5 fields totalling 50.06 hectares: 

Overton 4: 9.06ha

Overton 5: 11.63ha (included in work package 4)

New Farm 4: 7.18ha

New Farm 5: 6.77ha

Newton 1: 15.42ha

Assessments

Proposals should include a time schedule and protocol (including number of samples and analysis) for the following assessments in accordance with standard operating procedures and to address the aim of the baselining.

• Rooting density, length and branching
• Yield
• Grain quality
• Crop biomass
• Growth stages
• Disease assessments
• Leaf nutrient assessments at same GPS location as soil nutrient samples

Work package 3: Data analysis

Background

David has been involved in different trials as well as gathering information about the farm over a number of years. The aim of this work package is to analyse existing data collected to identify trends or knowledge gaps that could influence future trials to improve yield.

Design

The data available is presented in the table below

Assessments

Data should be compiled and analysed to identify potential correlations between factors as well as impact on yield. Data should be processed to see if there are trends with yield.

Work package 4: Drainage trial

Background

The farm is on a heavy clay soil which is slowly permeable and can be waterlogged for long periods without adequate drainage. There has been a general reduction in organic matter levels in arable soils over the past 70 years which makes them more susceptible to waterlogging and more in need of drainage. There is interest at the farm as to whether microbes are dying in the winter as the soil becomes anaerobic and if this can be improved with drainage. There is also interest in the time it takes for the soil to restructure, increase in porosity and improve microbial activity.

In May 2022, Overton 5 (11.63ha) is being redrained with lateral drains at 10, 15 and 20m intervals. For comparison, there is also a corner of the field which is not drained and a section with the old drainage system in place.  The neighbouring field, Overton 4 (9.06ha) was redrained a few years ago.

The aim of this trial is to investigate the impact of drainage approaches on crop performance.

Design

Drainage field: Overton 5 (11.63 ha)

Comparison field: Overton 4 (9.06 ha)

The diagram below is an illustrative tool only (not to scale). More information on the scale will be provided to the successful contractor upon completion of drainage instillation (due to be completed May 2022).

Section A: Old drainage system

Section B: Undrained

Section C: Drainage area with lateral drains at 10, 15 and 20m intervals

Black circles: Outflow chambers

Assessments

• Soil organic matter
• VESS
• Yield
• Water samples from chambers
• Soil biology
• Bulk density
• Crop development [included in work package 2]
• Microbiological analysis (bacteria - fungal ratio) [included in work package 1]